Pivoted-jaw wrench having a jawclosing spring anchored in a hollow pivot



April 24, 19 P. H. HABERLE PIVOTED-JAW WRENCH HAVING A JAW-CLOSINGSPRING ANCHORED IN A HOLLOW PIVOT Filed June 23, 1955 PAUL H. HABEELE eniab e jawmin-aw WRENCH HAVING A JAW- CLOSING SPRING 'ANCHORED IN A"oLLow PIVOT.

7' 7 aul: H- Haberle, Aurora,

- Application rune-2s, 1955, Serial Nip {517,561

2; Claims. roast-H99) 'l isflin eu ion rel tes to pivoteddaw wrenchesof. the t ee. whi h ratchet on. he-work and. mo e p ic to s ring. anpivo tu an therefor wh reby the law the s ilt-adj st ng; lthoughfl hesfea ures may mnloy dfw h equal'advantage for oth r purposes.-

' An important obj f this i ven on, th n, is the'provis on of, an imprved type piv and j -a tuating sp n a mechanism tor a'rateh t wrench-Anothe object f he invention s the. provision of ai m ove spr ngnehoring p v t means for a ra ch ten h ving a piv t d j w.

' ier objec f he n t tismv is the provisi n. f

a. spring-anchoring. p ot on which a movably mounted and p v e t jaw sructureis self-adjustin .tothework. o be t rn d. r

A still. furth r object oi he inven ion is. th provisi n in a atc etype. wr nch of. a hollow pivot t r nclos- 1H8 s n, mean opera e yconnect ng, the pivot and a X t anth r. and till f rther objec of. theinvention he. provisi n, in a. pivot daiaw wrench. of a holl BilLQI. eclosing a d n horiugjaiawlosing spring.

Qt er objects nd advantages. of he. invention will become more apparentfr m the f l w ng detailed dedrawiugs, in which:

, F gure. 1 is a side eleva i n of awrench embodying ieatures f the; nrsentinvention; Figure 2 is ab tom view oi'the wrenchshown in Figur.scription. taken in. connection with he accompanying 1,. andilln tratesthe front. or open-jaw ide. thereof;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary side elevation. of the jaw structur n op n psition andv wi h a. cover being removed to-he'tter show theself-closing. spring, assem ly;

Figure 4. is, nenlarg tl. iragtnentary horizontal secview taken ubstanially along the. line of figure 1.;

Figure. 5 sa view, im lar to. Figur 4, ut. showing a modified form ofpivotrand-spring assembly;

F gur 6 is an enlarged plan v ew of the pivotspring .ShQwn in crosssection in Figure 4, but rotated 90 clock- .w from its position h r in;

ure, 7 is an enlarged plan view of the pivot spring shown in crosssection in. Figure 5,, but, ota ed. 90 clockwjs jrom its positiontherein;

Figut .8 is anenlarged plan viewer a pivot insert, but t late jfillclockwise from its position therein;

. I F gure9 is a left nd viewotv he insert hown in Figure 8; and

, Un d States Pfl Q v Figur 1.0. s a-plan view. having parts, broke a yan shown n; section, of the cuph pe p o p n shown in, 'ross section inFigures 4 and 5.

As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the wrench comprises an elongated handle 11terminating atone end in a fixed orstationary' jaw 12; The jaw has anarcuate and convan shaped gripping surface #with transverse serrationson'teeth 13; These teeth maybe-provid'ed as an integral part ofthe:wrench in'whichevent thehandle is formed from an alloy steel or otherhard, tough" metal 2,742,808 Patented Apr. 24, 1956 to provide maximumwear. However, the teeth may be formed on adetachable member secured tothe handle by'interengaging Wedge cleats, by screws, or by any one ofseveral other means, all of which is well known in he art.- r

" It will be noted that the longitudinal axis of the handle 11 isforwardly offset relative to the stationary jaw and connected thereto bya curved portion 14 for a purpose to be described later.

As best shown in Figures 4 and 5, the stationary jaw 12 has an opening15 therethrough for receiving a pivot member 16. The pivot member,illustrated in Figure 10, has a straight cylindrical shank 17 with an.enlarged end portion 18 providing an abutment shoulder 19. Serrations orteeth 20, 20. are formed in the shank adjacent the abutment shoulder.,The shank is sized for press fit, through they opening 15 withtheshoulder 19 seated r ayhe body of the movable jaw generally is S-shapedin sidevi'ew. .At its forward end is a gripping portion 26,

' preferably of straight line configuration arranged in angu- Iarortiltedrelation to the vertical axis of the stationary I jaw when the"parts are' as shown, in Figure l. The gripping surface is formed bytransverse serrations or teeth, 27. As in the case of the teeth of thestationary jaw, the teeth 27 may be formed integrallyon the'movable jawor on a detachable member.

At the other or opposite end of the movable jaw body isprovided a thumbtrigger 2.8. The trigger has a concave upper surface to accommodate the.thumb of a user for quickly opening the movable jaw relative to thefixed or stationary jaw for receiving therebetween a work piece to beturned, When the movable jaw is rotated on the pivot 17' to thepositionof maximumv opening (Figure 3),

the convex under side of the thumb trigger seats against 45 t the curvedsurface. 14, connecting the stationary jaw and handle... I v

in order that themovable jaw 21 be self-adjusting toward the stationaryjaw 12 to accommodate awork piece and effectively grip it, a coiledwirespring 29 is confined within an internal recess 30 in the pivot member.An, extension recess 31, of smaller diameter than the recess-30, isprovided with threads 32 for securing, one end 33 of, the spring. Asbest shown. in Figures 4 and 6, theispring 29 has several, coils of wireat the end 33 wound in a right-hand direction. The coils are sized tothread into the extension recess and lock in the pivot member. At theother end 34 of, the spring there is provided a plurality of coils woundin a left-hand direction.

Theleft and right-hand. coils are joined by a loop 35.

@The coils 34' terminate in a diametrically extending. an-

chor 36 which, extends into a slot 37 provided in an I edge of theaperture 25 of the movable jaw boss 22. Thespring described is providedwith right-hand-wound coils in order to threadably engage within thethreaded recess at' the bottom of the pivot, member. Thisarrangementafiectsa locking of the parts. In Figure 6, the spring isillustrated as having two such coils. It is to be "understood; however,that this number may be varied depending on the depth of the recess 31and the number of threads therein. The forward or working end 34 ofthe'spring is provided with a plurality Of'lfiftrhflfldrWOl-llld coils.wherebyl to effect a. winding ofthat portion ofthe 3. spring when themovable jaw is rotated to an opened position, An unwinding of the springwill, therefore, effect pressure in a jaw-closing direction.

As seen in Figure 4, the pivot mount 22 has an annular recess 38provided in the face diereof. A fiat cover plate 39 is shaped to be spunor pressed into the annular recess to serve as a seal for the interiorof the pivot member and to confine the coiled spring therein. It ispreferred that the closed end of the pivot member lie flush with theouter face of the movable jaw pivot mount 21 and that the annular recess38 accommodate the cover plate fiush with the outer face of the pivotmount 22.

With the arrangement of parts as described above, the spring 29 willnormally urge the movable jaw 21 toward the stationary jaw 12 from anylimits defined by the abutment of the trigger 28 and curved handlesurface 14 (Figure 3) and by contact of the jaws one with the other. Theuser can open the movable jaw by exerting thumb pressure on the trigger28 to rotate the jaw in a clockwise direction relative to the stationaryjaw to any desired distance within the above defined limits. In thisrelative jaw movement, the pivot mounts 21 and 22 rotate on the pivotmember 16 against pressure exerted by the coiled spring 29 urging themovable jaw to a closed position.

In the modified embodiment illustrated in Figures 7, 8 and 9, thestructural features previously described are embodied therein except forchanges in the construction of a coiled wire spring 29:: and theprovision of an insert 40 for the extension recess 31 of the pivotmember 16. The insert 46 has a body 41 of approximately the same lengthas the depth of the extension recess 31 and is provided with exteriorthreads 42 for threaded engagement therein. At one end of the body 41 isformed forwardly extending spaced fingers 43 and 44 of generallypartially circular configuration.

The spring 29a has all of its coils 45 wound in a lefthand directionwith the inside diameter thereof effecting a snug embracing of thespaced fingers 43 and 44. The

embracing end of the spring terminates in a diametrically 1 extendinganchor 46 which engages in a slot 47 between the fingers 43 and 44. Atthe other end of the spring is a diametrically extending anchor 48shaped similarly to and for the same purpose as the anchor 36 of thespring 29.

Operation of the spring 29:: and associated parts is the same aspreviously described. As the end 46 is anchored in the pivot member, aclockwise rotation of the movable jaw 21 winds the spring therebyeffecting the application of an unwinding pressure on the jaw to returnit to a position closing it either against an inserted work piece or thestationary jaw.

While I have shown certain preferred embodiments of my invention anddescribed them more or less precisely as to details, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not to be limited thereby, as changesmay be made in the arrangement and proportion of parts, and equivalentsmay be substituted, without departing from the function and scope of theinvention.

1 claim as my invention:

l. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw, the improvements comprising ahollow pivot member, said fixed jaw and pivot mounts having alignedopenings for receiving said pivot member, a coiled spring adapted toseat within said pivot member, and means anchoring one end of saidspring in the pivot member, the other end of said spring being anchoredto one of the pivot mounts for normally urging said movable jaw towardsaid fixed jaw. v

2. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw, the improvements comprising ahollow pivot member, said fixed jaw and pivot mounts having alignedopenings for receiving said pivot member, a coiled spring adapted to 4seat within said pivot member, and threaded means anshoring one end ofsaid spring in the pivot member, the other end of said spring beinganchored to one of the pivot mounts for normally urging said movable jawtoward said fixed jaw.

3. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jaws having alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising a recessedpivot memoer press-fitted in the opening of the fixed jaw and extendingon both sides thereof for rotatably mounting the furcated mounts of themovable jaw, a coiled spring adapted to seat in the recess of said pivotmember, and threaded means in the recess of said pivot member foranchoring the coiled spring therein, the other end of said spring beinganchored to one of the pivot mounts for normally urging said movable jawtoward said fixed jaw.

4. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jaws having alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising a recessedpivot member with a serrated peripheral portion located substantiallyintermediately of the ends thereof, the pivot member bcing arranged forpress-fit at the serrated portion in the opening of the fixed jaw withthe ends thereof rotatably mounting the furcated mounts, the bottom ofthe recessed portion of the pivot member being threaded, and a coiledspring having one end arranged for threaded engagement in said bottom ofthe recess to anchor the spring to said pivot member and its other endanchored to one of the pivot mounts for normally urging said movable jawtoward said fixed jaw. Y

5. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jaws having alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising an axiallyrecessed pivot member in press-fit engagement in the opening of thefixed jaw and extending beyond bothsidcs thereof to provide pivots forrotatably mounting the straddling furcated mounts, threads in a bottomportion of the axial recess of the pivot member, and a coiled springhaving coils at one end arranged for threaded engagement in the threadsof the bottom portion of the pivot-member recess to anchor the springtherein, the coils at the other end of said spring being wound in adirection opposite the winding of the coils at said one end andterminating in an anchor to one of the pivot mounts for normally urgingsaid movable jaw toward said fixed jaw.

6. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jaws having alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising an axiallyrecessed pivot member in press-fit engagement in the opening of thefixed jaw and extending beyond both sides thereof to provide pivots forrotatably mounting the straddling furcated mounts, threads in a bottomportion of the axial recess of the pivot member, and a coiled springhaving the coils at one end wound in a left hand direction and the coilsat the other end wound in a right hand direction with a connecting looptherebetween, the right hand coils being threaded into the threads ofthe bottom portion of the recess in the pivot member to anchor thespring therein, the left hand coils terminating in an anchor to one ofthe pivot mounts for normally urging said movable jaw toward said fixedjaw.

7. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jaws having alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising an axiallyrecessed pivot member in press-fit engagement in the opening of thefixed jaw and extending beyond both sides thereof to provide pivots forrotatably mounting the straddling furcated mounts, threads in a bottomportion of the axial recess of the pivot member, a threaded insertmember screwed into the threaded bottom portion of the axial recess ofthe pivot member, and a coiled spring having one'end anchored in saidinsert member and its other end anchored in one of the pivot mounts fornormally urging said movabale jaw toward said fixed jaw.

8. In a hand tool having a fixed jaw and a movable jaw with furcatedpivot mounts straddling said fixed jaw and said jawshaving alignedopenings at the straddled area, the improvements comprising an axiallyre- .cessed pivot member in press-fit engagement in the opening of thefixed jaw and extending beyond both sides thereof to provide pivots forrotatably mounting the straddling fureated mounts, threads in a bottomportion of the axial recess'of the pivot member, an insert member having.a threaded body screwed into the threaded 15 2,645,145

the other end anchored in one of the pivot mounts for normally urgingsaid movable jaw toward said fixed jaw.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS295,204 Schramm et al Mar. 18, 1884 1 ,486,981 Magnan Mar. 18, 19242,211,507 Lilleberg Aug. 13, 1940 Larson July 14, 1953

